Probably the best $57 dollars we've ever spent....

Had to figure out how to get our son to stop sitting at the fence, while our neighbours splashed around in their inground pool...We decided, this summer, we're buying one for our yard....Not the kind where they have to come and dig up your yard, and pour concrete, that in the end costs thousands of dollars...We bought an Intex pool...One of the little blow up kinds that you fill with water and it has a pump...It's an 8X30 pool.....We only have a 4 foot tall fence, so we can't have anything deeper than 3 feet....So this one was just perfect...It's not very big, but it is perfect for the kids, as we found out today...

As you can see,  my son likes to wear the life jacket...He says, "Mommy, it's not safe without a life jacket!" 

The kids had so much fun this afternoon..Spent most of it in this pool.....We've aded a ladder, bought it from someone off kijiji who live just up the street....a ladder and one of those nets to clean the pool....$10...What a bargain.....

6:15pm, it started to rain, so we told them they had to come in......

This was them about an hour later.....

Now I know exactly how to tire them out on the weekends!

Getting older really sucks.....but he still smiled as he turned 39..

My hubby......It will be 10 years ago on August 3rd that he married me(what a decision that was!)  We met in 2001, as ball players.....Ended up on the same slo-pitch team together in London, Ontario.....I was brand new to the team, he was a friend of a friend to the person who ran the team....I played first, he played shortstop.....and if first impressions were any indication, we would not have been together today.....I looked at him and thought, "Oh great, muscular shortstop.....Will probably mock me if I miss....Typical jock."  He thought, "Oh she works in radio...Is on the air...Probably has quite the ego.."Took a few weeks, and we warmed up a bit...I was dating someone else at the time.....but when we broke up, I got a call one afternoon to go play ball in a tournament......Guess who it was.....Then he asked me out to dinner....and it was pretty much history after that.......We had been dating for about a year when I got another job in Kingston, Ontario and I was planning to move....but he wouldn't have that..so he proposed and moved himself with me......Two dozen roses and a beautiful ring which he designed....We married in 2003.......

This is my husband....

Okay, that's my husband acting kooky, as he often does with the kids......

He celebrated a birthday yesterday....39 years old(younger than me, I must add!)  The kids and I took him out to Swiss Chalet yesterday.....

This is what he really looks like.....He is the best husband(he has put up with me for the past 10 years...That's pretty impressive!)   And I think he is probably one of the only guys that I brought home that my parents actually approved of...(Most of the others were jerks!) 

He is also a great father, who spends every moment he can with the kids...He always wants them to have the things that he never had.....(okay, the 4 wheeler belongs to my father, but my hubby always takes the kids for rides)

He has always been there for me, through thick and thin...Stuck by my side through the rough times.....has handled my moodiness(that comes with getting up at 3am every morning to go to work...some afternoons and evenings, I'm a tad cranky!)  He was there for me when I delivered his two kids, holding my hand, tolerating my yelling through the pain, and coaching me through.....

39 years old....But sometimes, not a day over 15......But that's okay...Sometimes I think he helps to keep me young...It's like having 3 kids.....

We work well together....I come up with all of the great ideas when it comes to home renovations, gardening, etc.....and he does all the work!    Works out perfectly!  LOL  (He knows how to use a shovel well)  He has come a long way with home renovations....I think if it weren't for the two of us working together, he never would have tried the things he has....Like laminate flooring, ceramic tiling, etc.  We made a great team!  (we also procrastinate well together!  LOL)

He's getting older, but he sure doesn't let it get him down...

His birthday was June 29th.....I'm posting this a day late, but that's because we stayed up late last night as a family to celebrate...

Love you Jay, and Happy Birthday!

Preschool graduation...Sniff, sniff!

My son, 4 years old already.....graduated from Pre-school.....Can I believe it?  Not really....The fact that he is getting older......Wait....I'm not sure if it's harder realising that he is getting older, or suddenly figuring out, that if HE is getting older,so am I!  We had this conversation in the newsroom the other day...Apparently I am middle aged...Uh-uh....No way, not happening.....NOT MIDDLE AGED!  Apparently 40 is middle aged.....Nope, forget it...Can't convince me......Denial.....Denial...Denial...

Anyway, there was a graduation ceremony at my son`s school.  My husband attended....You see, I attended another Kindergarten event two days earlier, which just happened to be held in the middle of the morning...My son went to Kindergaretn class and then rode the school bus, so I left work early..Then my husband did the same two days later because the graduation was also held in the middle of the morning...

The program

The graduate

My husband said the kids all lined up outside, and the parents were all sitting inside....They paraded in one by one, the proudest kids you`ve ever seen....The teachers called their names and they each went up and accepted a diploma!   The little caps were made out of construction paper, with the little tassels added...

It`s onto Kindergarten in September!   There`s a whole new world of trouble my son can get into there....but I`m ready..He`s a smart little kid, and there`s a whole new adventure just waiting for him....(besides, his sister will be on the next playground ready to bop the first kid that picks on her little brother! LOL)

My daughter, smart as a whip....Received a FANTASTIC report card.....is reading above her grade level, and was a pleasure to have in class!(Must take after her mom...LOL)   She is signed up to enter French Immersion in September, grade 3......We are wavering on the idea, simply because it seems that a lot of the parents I have spoken to aren`t putting their children in for grade 3, they`re waiting until grade 5.   Apparently the number of children who signed up, was way down ...I don`t know if that is just at my daughter`s school, or if it was right across the District......I think parents are nervous about it, because they`re concerned the provincial government might bump it back to grade 1, it could mess the kids up....We`ll see.......We can always change our minds before September and put her into English instead, but we`ve got a couple of  months to think about it...I really would like her to learn the French language, but whether or not she needs to learn it now or not is what we have to think about....

She was sad that school was over for the summer..She`ll miss her friends, but she brought home a bunch of phone numbers, and she is starting a new program next week that will keep her busy for the next couple of months...I think she`ll have a lot of fun, and meet a whole whack of friends.  Some of the outings she`ll be going on include going to Fundy Park, and even learning to play tennis!  Geez, can I take the summer off too?

The painting never ends!

I was trying to figure out when I started painting my daughter's room....I think it was months ago...Time to finish it....I finally got started.....Once it's done, that will leave two rooms to go plus the mud room.....Frankly, I'm starting to wonder, by the time I get finished whether it'll be time to start all over again in the other rooms!  I love planning the redecorating of a house.....but actually doing it?  Whole other story...

If you recall, my daughter wanted purple and yellow.....Well, she asked and she received...

The polka dots have to be painted a little more, and then on the yellow wall, I am going to do some purple polka dots..Those were just an added creative touch....

Yes, I know, not everyone's cup of tea when it comes to colours.....But it looks pretty hip!  She likes it, that's all that matters.....

 Now, if I could only get it all finished!

Father's Day celebrations

Yes, yes, I know.  Father's Day was on Sunday June 17th, and it is now June 21st...I am days behind........Here's where I start making excuses for why I didn't post this one on time.   First excuse.....You see, I have been filling in this week for the Talk Show on our radio station and that has consumed much of my time....Hmmmm, well that's not really all of it....Excuse number two..The kids have consumed the majority of my time....Well, that is partially true, they have been keeping me busy..Excuse number three...Just physically exhausted at night...Well, yes, that is true...SO, combine the three excuses, and then on top add that I just didn't make the time to update my blog, and there's your answer...

Late or not, Father's day around our household was a lot of fun this year.....Daddy got to sleep in til 9am(the kids decided on that)...I made the coffee, with my daughter's help....I poured the cereal, cut the fruit, and put it all out on the table....and the kids woke up Daddy by jumping on him and tickling his feet....

This is the giant Father's Day card that my daughter picked out at Walmart.....It was pretty funny...

My daughter did a father's day card at school as well.....It was much like a tool box, with paper tools included.  Each tool had a task written on it, that she plans to help her dad with, including mow the lawn(which she has already asked several times to help with!  Get 'er trained young I say!), also breakfast in bed, and a couple others.....

And finally my son's gift to his Daddy.  They make the coolest gifts at his preschool!

He also got a couple of t-shirts....Both most appropriate.....And two pairs of smurf boxer shorts(I forgot to take pictures of those)

To wrap up our Father's Day, we decided on a family board game, one that we had been promising to play for a week now......

We teamed up, boys versus girls!  The girls whooped the boys butts!   They were bankrupt!  My daughter was a little concerned at first because I was spending all of the money buying properties(it was her first time playing)....but she put her full trust in me when we WON!  Disney Monopoly champions!   The boys are out for revenge though....and they'll play that much harder next time.(Daddy doesn't like losing very much..Heehee)

As for my dad, if you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know all about him....He got his very own posting for his birthday......We were over to see my mom and dad in PEI in May, over the Mother's Day weekend, and I brought him his gifts....But you'll have to wait until I go on vacation to see them.  He has them set up beside his pond now, and I'm sure they look FABULOUS!  Solar light bulrushes.....The frogs will be rushing to live in his pond....I also picked him up a solar bug light, but he already has one...so I returned it for something else, which I'll be giving him when we head to the Island in a few weeks.....and one other thing, which I will have him model and I'll take photos for later.....It has to do with the show "Storage Wars."  "Yeepppppppp!"   (I'm addicted to that show!)

He's a pretty special guy, even though my kids drive him crazy now....(and I'm sure that I drive him crazy too)  Can't blame him though...My father has a wife, and lived in a household with three daughters.....That's four women under the same roof...Holy cow, I can't remember if we all shared the same cycle, but if we did, he managed to make it through somehow!!!!!

This is a pic of my dad(he's the one bent down putting wood on the fire), and his buddy Roger from the house next door(AKA the strawberry thief!  Ha Ha)

I borrowed the pic from my mom's facebook page...

As for my Father-in Law, well,  Ed's looking down on us from Heaven....Probably sitting in a big ole chair watching The Three Stooges or old Westerns or something....(the Hubby is getting teary eyed right now reading this I'm sure..) 

Anyway, belated or not, a big Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!(that's includes those single moms too who act in the role of mom and dad)   A dad's job is just as important as the mom's(even though we carried, and delivered the kids, and won't EVER let you forget it!!!!)

Doing the pigeon...(and the goose and duck)

Remember the song that Bert always sang on Sesame Street? 

Believe it or not, that video is from 1973!  Man, I feel old!!!!

Anyway...the whole relevance is,  that every time I see a pigeon, it reminds me of that song!

We occasionally see pigeons in our backyard, and there were a couple resting on the power lines behind my house tonight..

On Friday, we went to Centennial Park ....and the ducks and Canadian Geese were gathered at the shore area, where they were endulging in a full feast with the number of people feeding them.  These birds have grown so accustomed to getting fed, that you can actually go up and touch the birds...

The kids played on the teeter-totters....remember these?  You don't see them around very often anymore....

Circus, Afro, Polka Dot, Polka Dot

It's even worse than the song that never ends...The song from the movie Madagascar 3:  Europe's Most Wanted.....It sticks it your head!  Can't get it out! (My husband has now added it to his phone, as his official ringtone!  He's just trying to be a cool dad, you know... )
Just kidding honey!  :)

But it was a fabulous movie!  We decided to take the kids on Sunday, and the theatre was packed....It appears that everyone else had the same idea as we did for a Sunday afternoon!

Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Ben Stiller and Jada Pinkett Smith, once again do a fantastic job voicing their characters....Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe..They're joined by Gia, Vitaly, and Stefano, and are being chased by Dubois and her crew...I give this one a 9 out of 10....Not only because it features some of the funniest characters(which just happen to be animals...and I LOVE animals!), but also because they managed to include the song "Firework" by Katy Perry...

The 3D effects were great!  This is definitely one I recommend that you pay the extra and see in 3D...

Aren't 3D glasses the coolest things!  Now that almost every movie is in 3D, I can imagine the next step is to start offering these glasses in all the latest stylish colours.......RayBan could make a fortune! 

Maybe they'll start selling them with prescription lenses as well? 

Vacation road trip memories

Because most of my family was born in Prince Edward Island(with the exception of me, who was born, bred and raised in Ontario...My parents moved before they had me), we spent two weeks of our summer each year on the Island....In July or August, depending on when my parents booked their vacation, we packed up the car the night before, and got up around 4am, and hit the road.....In the beginning, it was roughly about 20 hours from Brampton....that was before new highways and shortcuts......We used to stop the night, and then we were on the Island by around 3 the next day....taking into account the time change.....For those of you who don't know, Ontario and PEI are in different time zones, so there is an hour difference...

When I first moved to Moncton, I realised that I really knew nothing about the Hub City....The most familiar sites I saw when travelling past on the Trans Canada are still there including these...They have changed since the many years ago when I first saw them..They can be found on Magnetic Hill.....just take that exit  and you're right there....

I don't know how long the McDonald's and gas station have been there, but it's long enough that I remember when I used to beg my parents to stop for something to eat on our travels....And when we passed that mark on the highway, I always knew we weren't too far from our destination.....Prince Edward Island was ultimately where we wanted to go, but it was the Northumberland Ferry I was shooting for......I sometimes miss the boat....The Confederation Bridge is exciting...but only for the first few times.....whereas on the boat there was always something new....You could sit indoors and have a bite to eat....or you could go out on deck, and look out at the water...When I was younger, I didn't have a problem standing on the rails looking over....Now, many years later, I don't like to look down into the water...fears of falling or something..It's kind of silly..

This is a photo of one of the ferries I found online.....

Mid-summer, depending on the time of day we arrived at the ferry, we sometimes had to wait for hours because of the number of cars lined up to crossover to PEI....The ferry certainly added time to the trip, taking over a hour to cross from Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick to Borden, Prince Edward Island.....but for those who had never made the trip, I imagine it added a little bit more adventure....After a long drive from Ontario to PEI, it gave the driver a bit of a break......

For those who got seasick, I can bet it wasn't that exciting...but I just loved it as a child......

The Confederation Bridge had its 15th year anniversary this year...Hard to believe it has been that long since we started crossing that bridge....

Back to Magnetic Hill....Found the website on the legend, and how it got started....

You can check it out by going to this link, http://www.magnetichill.com/english.htm

"Stories about a strange road where the wagon would run up on the horses heels when going uphill go back to the 1880's. In 1933 stories of cars rolling uphill without power peaked the curiosity of three newspaper reporters from the Saint John Telegraph Journal. In August of 1933 they traveled to Moncton and spent hours trying every hill they came to in hopes of unraveling the mystery. After 5 hours of no success they stopped to stretch their legs on the way home and you guessed it. . . the car started to roll uphill. "   

Tourists are still paying to check it out to this day....

While on our travels, we took some pics from the Hill...What a view....The homeowners up there are VERY lucky! 

I also grabbed a couple of shots of Casino NB on our way back on Mountain Road..